Recommendations for somewhere everyone can enjoy?

[LearnedSquirrel]

Looking for some recommendations for our holiday next year that would suit us all!

DH absolutely has to have something interesting going on. He loves history, anything ancient and loves exploring, I do as well but I'm also happy with a beach holiday too! We try to go away together on our own when we can but I'd like to start incorporating DC (6yo) into these trips too.

We do usually have a beach / pool holiday as well for the little one but honestly it just ends up a bit tense as we are bored stiff for the majority.

Can anyone recommend somewhere with a bit of history, places to explore etc.. that would also be suitable for a 6yo. Somewhere we can do a mix of pool days and exploring days.

Hiring a car is a must so roads have to be not suicidal to drive on preferably 😁

We did Malta this year just me and H and loved it, such an interesting place.

Also just to add it doesn't have to be hot and sunny either. We did Finland with DC last year and that was a huge hit with sledging etc .. but also beautiful and fun for us!

Sicily.
Base yourselves at Syracuse.

History, swimming, good food, not mad roads
and Etna !

The Dordogne in France?

I was going to suggest Malta!
agree with pp - Sicily seems ideal.

My DH was like yours - willing to sit by the pool some days but wanting 'culture' other days.
If you don't need a pool/summer vibes, all the big cities are options: Amsterdam, Paris, Rome, Madrid, Berlin, Brussels.
If you're looking for pool + history, there are loads of places. I'd say the challenge is finding the hotel/pool.
Greece - we went to Crete 2 summers ago. Palace of Knossos + pool time, museum in Heraklion
Corfu
Naples area - hotel w/pool but days out at Herculaneum & Pompeii plus Museo Nazionale in Naples itself
Barcelona - beach or hotel w/pool + all of Gaudi's amazing buildings and Picasso museum, Freixenet Winery
Milan - loads of places 1hr or less by train for day trips.
Venice - hotel + pool combo will not be in the centre but going there is 1/2 the fun.

I was literally going to suggest Malta. We stayed in a nice all inc place in Qawa with our kids. It was a 5 min walk to the bus station with busses into Valletta. There was also a great water park near by. Also an aquarium in walking distance.

Costa Brava. Roman Ruins at Empuries, several castles, could visit Girona or Barcelona. Nice beaches, watersports, loads of lovely areas to stay.

Thank you for the suggestions! I will certainly take a look.

I love the idea of Pompeii, I went as a child but can only remember snippets, and I do actually think our 6yo would actually find that equally fascinating! They had an exhibit on at the museum and he talked about it non stop for weeks after. I was worried it would terrifying him!

I've not actually been anywhere in Italy as an adult, what is the road situation in terms of hiring a car as I've heard some horror stories about driving in Italy 😬 It worries me more due to having DC with us potentially! Although we did hear the same about Malta and found that to be absolutely fine.

We did Pompeii at Easter with our kids. We booked through Jet2 and stayed in a lovely hotel near Sorrento. It was super close to the station and we got the train to Pompeii and Herculaneum. Kids under 7 are free and the trains are very regular. Sorrento was beautiful as well.

Id recommend going at Easter rather than the summer. In the summer it’s way too hot and busy.

If you go with Jet2 they include airport transfers so you can avoid all the hiring car stuff.

Pompeii, Herculaneum and Villa Popea
are on a combined ticket
do the last one first and skip the queues at the other two

the Villa belonged to Nero's mother its astounding

but the Villa Romana del Casale on Sicily beats the lot for astounding mosaics

Thanks for all the Pompeii insight. That is somewhere we would like to visit but I hadn't thought about how to make it work and I had heard that Naples wasn't very nice but I like the idea of staying elsewhere on the coast and using trains to get about.

That reminds me of an article I read recently that was about travelling the entire coast of Italy by train from the north west side right round to the north east side stopping off at places of interest along the way. I can't remember the details or where I read it, but that sounds like a great trip.

Would you prefer to stay in a hotel or would you consider camping. We have done eurocamp since we had kids. Our first one was Luxembourg, a country that often gets overlooked, but we loved it. So many castles and pretty towns, we did a day trip to trier in Germany which is full of Roman ruins. We stayed at a campsite called Birkelt which had play area and swimming pools for the kids. Easy drive from the UK.

Barcelona fits your brief! Nice beach and gorgeous city full of history.

Pula in Croatia is brilliant for this. The Arena Campsite has statics and nice safari tents with a loo and shower in and literally anywhere you turn over you leave your tent/static you just walk a few metres and jump in too the sea. Take snorkels and masks. It's incredible. Easy walk to supermarket for food.

Bus from the entrance takes you in to Pula which has great history. There is a castle, more Roman ruins than you know what to do with including a beautiful arena (when we went they did great gladiator fights in the evening) and there are great tunnels under the city that were intended for shelter if the cold war kicked off.

You can easily have 2 or 3 swims and go see some history on one day and not really feel like it has been tiring at all.

Plus excellent gelato. Must have at least 2 a day.

We stayed in Sorrento too when we went to Pompeii and got the train. We went October half term to avoid the heat. It was still 20+ and sea still warm for swimming.

Dordogne/Lot also a good shout or the Loire. Plenty of places right on the river for swimming and lots of castles and caves.

We are Finland fans too. I want to interrail Nordics next summer and see Finland without snow!

So many places to be honest. Germany, Slovenia, Poland, Spain etc all haver lovely lakes and rivers you can stay by to relax and swim plus are full of history.

Ooo like the sound of Croatia! I have been many years ago and thought it was beautiful then. Would like to go back.

We do camp but honestly I'm not a lover of the whole drive for an entire day to get somewhere thing. When we camp in the UK we tend to stick to about 3/4 hours away at a maximum. That may change as DC get older and there's less complaints 😁

The idea of a safari tent / static though sounds great.

Naples is fine so long as you stay in the centre but the driving is horrific

Vrbo is the rental site that Italians use more than airbnb

@LearnedSquirrel "what is the road situation in terms of hiring a car as I've heard some horror stories about driving in Italy"

Driving in or around Naples is absolutely not for the faint hearted. The drivers are notoriously bonkers. I'm half Italian and I would avoid driving there like the plague. But you honestly don't need a car. The Circumvesuviana train will get you just about anywhere you need to go cheaply and efficiently. You can also sit back and enjoy the view. Pompeii and Herculaneum are real bucket list places and there are many other fantastic things to see in the area, like the Amalfi coast and the islands of Capri and Ischia. There is history and stunning scenery at every turn. Sorrento is a good base for a "first timer".

What about Northern Spain? Brittany ferries go to Santander. The overnight trip would be an adventure for your six year old. The ferry just parks on the quay in the town (unlike Bilbao) and there you are. I didn't drive (coaches along the N Spain coast are terrific) plus trains, but the motorways look eminently driveable. Santander has plenty of beaches, apparently.

Loads of history. Santiango de Compostela is unmissable. Altamira Caves are about as historic as you can get. The Tower of Hercules is an ancient Roman lighthouse in nearby A Coruña, although I've only driven past it. Plus, a bit niche this, Portugalete down from Bilbao has one of the last few historic working Transporter bridges left in the world. (It might not be ancient enough for your husband.) Have a fab holiday.

My first thought too!

What about a cruise?! New place every day. Morning exploring/ afternoon relaxing.

Croatia or Costa Brava. Specifically I would stay near Begur. Lots of beautiful sandy coves but with many day trip
options including Roman ruins.

Peloponnese seems ideal,I’m adding it to my list https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2026/oct/17/peloponnese-greece-road-trip-autumn